Musician Poppy released a cover of Jack Off Jill’s song “Fear of Dying.” The song was originally released on Jack Off Jill’s sophomore studio record Clear Hearts Grey Flowers via Risk Records in 2000. Poppy’s cover was released via Sumerian Records.

The song was released with original single art created by artist Cotoh Sumi. It’s an image in the style of manga, of a girl with sutures around her mouth, and mouths on the back of her hands blowing steam.

Poppy’s cover of “Fear of Dying” is a stylistic continuation from her second and third studio albums, Am I A Girl? (2018) and I Disagree (2020). Mxdwn author Cervante Pope reviewed I Disagree, writing “For the sake of creativity and possibly driving home the concept of the former self versus the future self, Poppy is doing something outside of the norm, sure. But what results in an album touted for being “post-genre,” yet having no considerable direction at all. There are parts of it that resonate individually, like the whole idea of transformation and some of the riffs themselves, but something about it carries an air of inauthenticity. It’s not really an album for pop music lovers and it certainly isn’t an album for metalheads, so it ends up landing somewhere in the middle. That limbo phase likely coincides with how Poppy might be feeling as a person, but it seems as though it is just a part of another persona.”

Poppy has kept relatively busy during the COVID-19 shutdown, playing a livestream called “The Last Disagreement” in April 2021. Mxdwn author Lexi Houghton reviewed the performance, writing “Poppy has a very interesting stage presence and her music is a pretty big mix of different things. Her style is dark and cute, while her music takes on the tones of avante garde, pop and nu-metal. Nu-metal is a subgenre of alternative metal that combines elements of heavy metal and other hints of things like alternative rock, industrial and grunge. Her art-pop aesthetic makes her so fun and lively to watch when she’s performing… This show was very lively, fun and heavy. The songs were a mix of some sweet and powerful vocals, as well as heavy metal and styles. While those two things don’t typically go together, Poppy’s style blended these two elements together with ease.”

In December of 2020, Poppy released a Christmas EP, A Very Poppy Christmas. Cait Stoddardt, mxdwn author, reviewed the EP, “Christmas music is cherished by millions of people around the world, and A Very Poppy Christmas EP offers a different view of this holiday season with how Poppy uses her low and tender voice to create a different style of music that can still leave listeners feeling merry and bright. The singer also released a few new songs, since her EP release, including “Say Cheese” in April 2021 at a WWE event and “Eat” at the Grammys Premiere Ceremony.

Photo Credit: Ekaterina Gorbacheva